The present disclosure relate to a ceiling type air conditioner.
In general, ceiling type air conditioners are devices that are positioned in an indoor ceiling to discharge heat-exchanged air into an indoor space after suctioning indoor air from the ceiling. In such a ceiling type air conditioner, air is suctioned through a suction hole defined in a central portion of the ceiling type air conditioner, and then, the suctioned air is heat-exchanged by a heat exchanger disposed within the ceiling type air conditioner. The air-conditioned air may be discharged into the indoor space through a discharge part disposed on a circumferential portion of the ceiling type air conditioner to adjust a temperature and moisture of the indoor space.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an inner structure of an indoor unit of a ceiling type air conditioner according to a related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, an indoor unit 10 of a ceiling type air conditioner according to the related art may include a case 20 installed in a ceiling and a turbo fan 30 accommodated within the case 20 and including a plurality of blades 31. The turbo fan 30 may be driven by a motor 32 providing a power. The motor 32 may be attached to a predetermined plate (not shown) to drive the turbo fan 30.
The plate (not shown) may be manufactured using a specific material or having a predetermined shape to reduce noise and vibration generated when vibration of the motor 32 is transferred into the case 20. A suction hole 50 suctioning indoor air may be defined in a center of the indoor unit 10, and a plurality of discharge holes 60 may be defined outside the suction hole 50.
When the indoor unit 10 operates for a predetermined time, the motor 32 may increase in temperature. Thus, cooling passages 80 spaced a predetermined distance from each other may be defined in a bottom surface of the case between the turbo fan 30 and a side surface of the case 20.
Hereinafter, an operation of the ceiling type air conditioner according to the related art will be described.
When the indoor unit 10 of the ceiling type air conditioner operates, the motor 32 may operate to drive the turbo fan 30. Also, the indoor air suctioned through the suction hole 50 may be suctioned into the center of the turbo fan 30 by the driving of the turbo fan 30.
The suctioned indoor air may be heat-exchanged with a heat exchanger 40 disposed to surround the turbo fan 30. The heat-exchanged air may be supplied into the indoor space through the plurality of discharge holes 60 defined in an outer portion of the case 20. Also, the air passing through the blades 31 may be introduced into the motor 32 through the cooling passage 80.
However, if the cooling passage 80 has a wide width, the air introduced into the cooling passage 80 through separation from a main flow of the air discharged toward the heat exchanger 40 may cause turbulence. The turbulence may cause noise, and also deteriorate a function of the ceiling type air conditioner.
As disclosed in Patent Application No. 10-2006-0135877 and shown in FIG. 1 of this application, if the cooling passage 80 has a narrow width, it may be difficult to sufficiently cool heat generated in the motor 32. Thus, operation performance of the turbo fan 30 may be deteriorated.
Also, when the air suctioned through the suction hole 50 passes through the heat exchanger 40, air passing through an upper portion of the heat exchanger 40 may have a wind speed different from that of air passing through a lower portion of the heat exchanger 40. That is, according to the characteristics of the ceiling type air conditioner, since the motor 32 of the indoor unit 10 is attached to the ceiling, the turbo fan 30 should be fixed to an upper end of the air conditioner. Thus, flow rates at the upper and lower portions of the heat exchanger 40 may be non-uniformly distributed.
Thus, when the air passing through the heat exchanger 40 is discharged through the discharge holes 60, an amount of air discharged through the discharge holes 60 may be reduced to deteriorate performance of the indoor unit 10.